Unexpected Miracles
by ClosetFMAfan
Summary: Oneshot collection of reveal fics. Marinette would always be the last one to acknowledge any of Adrien's imperfections. Simply because there were none! Except… Well, even she couldn't deny he always smelled like cheese.
1. Cheese

**What happens when 30+ Miraculous Ladybug fans all watch the origins episodes together? Among a lot of other things, at least one of them blows off her homework to go write this.**

* * *

Marinette would always be the last one to acknowledge any of Adrien's imperfections. Simply because there were none! Between his kindness and intelligence and patience and… and yes, his looks, he was absolutely perfect! Except…

Well, even she couldn't deny he always smelled like cheese.

It was… weird… to say the least. For a while she thought maybe she was imagining it. Or smelling herself. Because there was no way that Adrien Agreste, part time fashion model, son of the top designers in Paris, who seemed to take a shower every time he was in danger and advertised for perfume… smelled like _cheese_.

Stinky cheese.

But no matter how many showers she herself took, the smell always came when she was around him. And only when she was around him. When Alya finally mentioned it herself, she knew that she wasn't crazy. Adrien smelled like cheese. Maybe that was why he took showers all the time. Only it didn't help very much. Even his room, the few times she visited, smelled like it. She was frankly baffled, but it wouldn't stop her from loving him!

She'd just keep a lot of air fresheners in their house when they were living together with their children and hamster.

It certainly wouldn't stop her from making a fool out herself every time she was around him. Which was why she was practically glowing with pride when classes were cancelled after an akuma attack and she managed to – without stuttering! – invite him over to her house for snacks. Along with Alya and Nino, but Adrien was coming to her house! Again! Not into her room this time, though, so she didn't have to worry about the pictures on her walls.

"You're free to help yourself to any of the croissants or cookies," Sabine said kindly as she finished welcoming them and turned back to caring for the bakery. Marinette led them through the bakery to their living room, hoping that she seemed calm and collected despite how fast her heart was hammering anyway in her chest. It was ridiculous. She had just faced down and defeated a crazed sci-fi nerd that wanted to abduct everyone and turn them into aliens without even blinking! But having Adrien in her house had her nearly hyperventilating.

"Sweet!" Nina said, immediately grabbing two cookies off a plate on the counter when he saw them. Ayla smiled and grabbed one as well, but Adrian didn't reach for the plate.

"Are-are you not hungry?" Marinette asked, cursing herself when she started stuttering again.

"Oh. Thank you Marinette," he said absent mindedly taking a cookie. He didn't eat it however, just frowned at his bag and muttering "I could have sworn I had some."

"Is there something that you need?"

He looked up at her and blinked in surprise. "What? Oh no! I'm fine thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes-OW!"

"Adrien?"

His hand had flown to his chest automatically, but when he saw the way she was looking at him he blushed and moved the hand to the back of his neck. "Perhaps… You wouldn't happen to have any cheese would you?"

Marinette blinked. "Cheese?"

"Yeah, cheese. Um. Camembert if you have it, but anything will do."

"You want me to get you cheese?"

He blushed even brighter, but nodded.

Trying not to frown at him, she disappeared into the kitchen to check the fridge for some cheese. They didn't have any camembert, but she grabbed a couple of different kinds to see which one he would like best. Maybe the reason he always smelled like cheese was just because he ate it all the time. That honestly surprised her though, she wouldn't think his dietitian would approve of that kind of diet.

He was still a little flushed when she returned carrying the selection. He gratefully accepted them, blushing even harder at the confused look on her face. Oh no! She made him embarrassed. She opened her mouth to apologize but he quickly blurted out,

"It's a comfort food!"

She frowned. "What?"

"The cheese. It's a… Uh. Comfort food. When I'm… Stressed. And that akuma attack I uh, well I got turned into an alien which was why I wasn't around and that was really disconcerting. I usually keep some on me but apparently I don't have any today-"

"So that's why you always smell like cheese!" She blurted without even thinking about it. If anything that made him turn and even brighter shade of red.

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean— I'm sorry! You don't need to be embarrassed— I mean you're perfect— I don't mind— I mean— I keep cookies in my purse!"

He laughed awkwardly, one hand in the back of his neck, the other holding the plate of cheeses.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I almost always have a cookie on me," she began to gush, happy he didn't immediately call her on being a freak. "Chocolate chip. My dad makes the best ones. I would hate it if there was an akuma attack and I didn't have any." More for Tikki's sake than hers, but it was a way she could sympathize. And it was true! She always tried to keep cookies on hand for Tikki if they had to transform in a place that wasn't a party or hotel.

He laughed again, but this time it seemed far more genuine. "I'm glad I'm not the only one that does something like that. I just wish it was something a little more inconspicuous then camembert."

He smiled and Marinette felt her heart melting. "Do you have a bathroom?"

"Down the hall," she said dreamily. He smiled again and walked past her down the hall. It was only once he had closed the door behind him that Marinette's purse shook slightly and she remembered the starving kwami. Under the pretense of getting glasses of water, she moved behind the counter so it could hide her slipping Tikki some extra cookies, all the while wondering if there was any way for her to bring Adrien some cheese at school without being too awkward about it.

* * *

"Welcome back, m'lady," Chat Noir said as he took a fighting stance. Ladybug landed lightly beside him, taking up a matching position.

"Did you figure out where the akuma is?" she asked, springing out of the way of an oversized broom.

"I'm pretty sure it's in his keys. They're the only part of him that isn't a part of the uniform, but he hasn't taken them off. And have I ever mentioned how you always sweep me away?"

"Time for jokes later, Chat. Let's try this again; Lucky Charm!"

She threw her yoyo into the air, hoping for a better result than the last time. It was her second time attempting to use her Lucky Charm facing this particular akuma. Which wasn't to say that the Lucky Charm didn't work. The Lucky Charm had, as always, anticipated her needs before she even knew what was going on. Unfortunately in this case, her need had been getting citizens out of danger rather than actually capturing the then unidentified enchanted item.

"A spray bottle?"

Chat, who had landed beside her, instead of making a joke, merely made a face at her. "Don't point that thing at me."

Ladybug glanced around the surrounding area before the gears finally all clicked into place. "I'll distract him, you get the keys!"

She sprinted across the broken pavement as Chat shouted his signature 'Cataclysm!', launching herself into the air in time to avoid the swinging broom and spray The Janitor directly in the face with the foul chemical. He spluttered and howled, distracted just long enough for Chat to grab the keys and watch them disintegrate in his hand.

The black butterfly emerged from his opened fist and in less than a minute, the akuma was cleansed and Paris was returned to its original form.

Ladybug and Chat Noir bumped their first together, Chat quickly pulling away to bow. "I must say, m'lady, you clean up nicely." She laughed, despite rolling her eyes, while he just grinned at her in his signature feline way. "You really did manage to transform back quickly," he continued jauntily. "I was expecting to have to hold my own longer than that."

Ladybug shrugged. "I always keep cookies in my purse for my kwami when I'm a civilian just for situations like this. We aren't always fighting in a hotel where cookies are available."

"I know exactly what you mean, Ladybug. At least your kwami eats cookies. No one will question that. It's a lot more inconspicuous than the camembert I carry around all day for my kwami." He pulled a face that she laughed at, this time without eye rolling, but… admittedly a fair share of hesitation. That statement seemed far too familiar. He obviously didn't catch the trepidation, though, because his eyes lit up for having made her laugh.

"I'm serious though, I smell like cheese all the time! It's embarrassing! And I know people recognize it because one time after a battle I asked a girl for cheese for Plagg and she said 'Oh so that's why you always smell like cheese.' It was mortifying, my—Lady? Is everything alright?"

The first beep of her earrings gave her the warning that her transformation was beginning to wear off, but she honestly didn't register it. Nor did Chat, who was probably wondering why her jaw probably seemed to have disconnected from her head. He put a hand on her shoulder, looking around to check and make sure they were alone. The janitor who had only recently been destroying the streets of Paris instead of cleaning them had run off, probably just glad that Miraculous Ladybug had taken care of the mess so he didn't have to.

"Ladybug, is something wrong?"

"A-Adrien?"

He froze.

"A-a-adrien? Who-who's Adrien? Is he behind me?" He turned around, checking over both of his shoulders. "There's no one there, Ladybug, let alone an Adrien. If you think you saw Adrien Agreste, I'm sure it was just one of his posters—"

"Chat— You're Adrien! It's not a comfort food, it's for your kwami! That's why you always smell like cheese!"

"Ladybug how did you—" He stopped himself half way though his own question. The dots were suddenly connecting a rapid pace. The hair, the eyes, the smell, the absences.

"You always keep cookies in your purse," he said breathed. "Marinette?"

Their Miraculouses beeped in unison this time. She moved to run away, but he caught her elbow. "Meet me outside that café right there in ten minutes. I think we have a lot to talk about, Marinette."

She flushed bright red but nodded so he let her go and they ran off separate ways. Adrien had never been so relieved to let a transformation go. He waited a few minutes to emerge from his alley just to make sure no one would make the connection between Chat Noir and Adrien before slinking out and hurrying over to the café he had pointed out earlier.

A minute later a bright red Marinette Dupain-Cheng approached him. He smiled at her, for the first time really allowed the excitement to settle in.

"So. Cheese?"


	2. Proposal

"My Lady," he said, all the introduction he needed as he skidded to a stop beside her. Ladybug barely spared him a glance as she wound up her arm, preparing to throw her yo-yo at their newest akuma attack: apparently fish were involved. And honestly, for being a cat, Chat Noir wasn't all too fond of fish. Adrien had had a bad experience with them once. But the _puns_ he could make!

"I'm pretty sure the akuma is in his fishing pole," she responded as she knocked aside the (literally) flying fish. Something flashed in the corner of Chat's vision and he jumped to the side, narrowing missing the fishing pole itself.

"He almost caught me there," he quipped, jumping out of the way again and then perching on the top of the railing.

They were flawless, of course. As well they should be. He and Ladybug had been working together for nearly five years now. They could practically read each other's minds. Of course the akumas got nastier (and weirder). The threats became more and more dangerous. But they always managed to pull through.

And finally, with a 'Miraculous Ladybug!' the day was set right and Paris was intact again. Ladybug grinned at him, they congratulated each other, and his ring beeped. Except he didn't move. He only stared at the ring.

"Chat, what are you doing? Get out of here," she chided gently. He didn't even twitch, just continued to stare at the beeping ring, and then looked up.

"Ladybug…"

"Chat...?"

He swallowed and took a breath before saying what had been on his mind for the past three weeks – three years, if he was being honest. "Don't you get tired of keeping the secret? Knowing that the people around you don't know an entire half of who you are. Your boyfriend-how do you keep the secret from him? I feel like I'm being eaten up inside. I feel sick knowing that I'm… lying to her."

Ladybug flinched slightly and for a moment he felt bad about bringing up, but then again… he didn't.

It had been three years ago that he had finally asked Marinette out. They had become closer and closer friends until he found himself thinking about her all the time. The light in her eyes when she talked about designing, the passion she had for defending her friends, her incredible sweetness when she dealt with children or the elderly or animals… He wouldn't say he had been quite over Ladybug at the time, but she had always rejected his advances and Marinette was right there.

He hadn't told Ladybug about her at first. They had agreed to keep their civilian lives secret, plus he hadn't been sure where his feelings lay regarding Marinette and Ladybug. But when he asked Marinette to be his girlfriend and she accepted, Ladybug had picked up on how happy he had been, prompting him to confess everything about dating her. To his eternal surprise, Ladybug, after her initial shock, had congratulated him and confessed that she had just gotten a boyfriend herself.

Ever since then, they had been happy to tell each other about their happiness or their troubles or talk about how amazing their respective significant others were. He actually really enjoyed hearing Ladybug talk about her boyfriend because she told him that she had actually had a crush on him for years before he asked her out and seeing her so happy made him happy. Recently, though, his had been glad that they were both in a relationship more because he knew that meant she always knew the pain of having to keep such a huge secret away from someone she loved.

"Chat," she said sadly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "You know we can't. I know how you feel. I want to tell him so bad. It kills me inside to keep any secrets from him. But I know that I'm keeping him safe by not telling him."

"But what if she's in more danger because she doesn't know? What if she sees me running into a building and doesn't know that I'm going to transform and tries to follow me and I don't have time to save her—"

"We can't."

"Ladybug, I'm planning on proposing." She gasped slightly. "I love her and I want to marry her. With all my heart. But I can't ask her to share her life with me if I'm hiding half of mine from her."

"Chat… I… We can't."

"But Ladybug what if—"

"No, Chat. We can't. I know it's horrible and it hurts and you don't want to hurt them. Trust me, I know. _I know_. But no one can know."

His head drooped, and he realized that he probably looked like a kicked kitten. His ring beeped again, though, so he gave her a half-hearted bow, and took off. There was a closet he ducked into just as the transformation wore off.

Plagg made some sort of comment about being weak and needing cheese, but Adrien barely paid him any attention other than to promise him some camembert when they returned home. He should have known that Ladybug wouldn't approve of his plan. And he could have gone ahead done it anyways, but he knew he couldn't do that without her knowing. It would have felt like a betrayal. He couldn't have done it.

That didn't help his heart from feeling like a lead block in his chest as he slipped in his bedroom window and procured some cheese for Plagg.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and smiled at the background picture.

Marinette had stolen his phone and before he even had a chance to register what was going began taking pictures of everything around the room that captured her interest. Most of them had been deleted, but she had snapped one picture of herself grinning before slipping it back in his bag. It was an adorable picture that made him smile every time he looked at it.

As if his thoughts of her had prompted it, a text notification appeared on his screen from his girlfriend.

 _Pretty fishy business with the latest attack, huh? Did u make it out alright?_

He smiled at the pun, leaning against the window as he typed out a response.

 _Swimmingly. What about you?_

He only had a wait a few seconds for the reply. _I'm fine. LB and CN did it again :)_

He smiled softly at the message until the twisted sick feeling in his gut came back.

He had been serious. What he said to Ladybug. He loved her. And he wanted to propose to her. He was planning on it. He had already bought the ring and gotten Mr. Dupein's permission to ask her. Marinette's parents were so excited about the idea of him as a son-in-law and he had to admit that he was thrilled at the prospect of having them as his parents.

But how could he possibly ask Marinette to marry him if he couldn't even tell her that he occasionally saved the world? How could he possibly hide Plagg from her? And what if she did see him, Adrien, running towards an akuma attack and follow him? She was so brave and selfless that he could easily see her trying to save him and ending up getting hurt because he didn't notice her following him and he was too busy trying to defeat the akuma to notice the love of his life getting… turned into a zombie.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he was surprised they hadn't dealt with any akumas that turned people into zombies. It seemed like a fairly obvious choice.

"What am I going to do Plagg?" he asked, turning around to face the kwami.

"I stand by what I said about girls and cheese," the black cat said helpfully. Adrien made a face at him, but Plagg simply continued eating. After swallowing the rest of the wheel Adrien had fetched for his longtime friend, however, Plagg drifted over and perched on Adrien's shoulder.

"Did any of the past Chat Noir's deal with this?"

"Some of them. Some of them told their loved one some of them didn't. I've seen both of them work and both of them blow up. I can't tell you what will work best. Every situation is different just like every Chat Noir is different."

It was one of those rare moments where Plagg was serious that reminded Adrien just how old his kwami was. He had been watching over Chat Noirs like him for thousands of years. He had been wheedling cheese out of Chat Noirs like him for thousands of years.

Thankfully, the buzz of his phone kept him from having to come up with any appropriately seriously response.

 _Adrien_

He frowned at Marinette's message, but patiently waited for her to finish whatever she was going to say. She typed for probably two whole minutes before a response finally came through.

 _I love you._

He swallowed, suddenly glad they were texting instead of face to face because he wasn't sure he would be able to keep the guilt off his face. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself from telling her everything. He wanted to transform back into Chat Noir, run across the rooftops, appear at the small apartment she was renting with Alya and tell her everything right now. He wanted to call her and confess. He wanted to run across Paris in the rain, kiss her under the Eiffel tower and propose and confess everything. He tapped the side of his phone then swiped his fingers over the appropriate keys.

 _I love you too._

* * *

"Adrien?"

He quickly jerked back to attention, feeling bad he had been drifting off.

"I'm sorry, Marinette, what?"

She smiled at him and he was struck with the insane urge to ignore the fact that they were at a very prestigious restaurant and throw himself across the table to kiss her. Why did she had such a strong effect on him?

"How late did you stay up this time?"

He smiled sheepishly before answering honestly, "I didn't actually ever get to sleep."

"You mean you didn't sleep at all? Adrien!" He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I just had a lot of things I was thinking about last night, Marinette. I couldn't fall asleep to save my life so I decided as long as I wasn't sleeping I might as well get some work done."

"You should have called me," she said softly.

"I didn't want to wake you up."

"Honestly, I didn't sleep that much last night either," she confessed. "I could have come over and we could have watched a movie together or something." He smiled at her, but inside he was glad that he hadn't called her. He wasn't sure how he would have handled himself considering it was her he had been up all night thinking about.

"I'll have to remember that for next time."

"We don't have to finish the date if you want to go home and sleep. Or maybe we could do the movie now since we didn't do it last night." He had to admit the idea of curling up with Marinette and letting her play with his hair as a movie neither of them was really paid attention to what played the background was very attractive, but…

"Marinette, I… I would love to. That sounds fantastic. But…"

He had thought about it all night. He had tossed and turned and now the ring in his pocket seemed to actually burn. And once upon a time he had said he was going to tell Ladybug he loved her and he hadn't. And he had sorely regretted it. He didn't want to do it again.

Just as he was about to open his mouth though… His phone rang.

He frowned, apologized, and fished his phone out of his pocket. It was Nathalie. He was sorely tempted to ignore it, but Marinette just smiled and told him she didn't mind if he stepped away to take the call.

He apologized again, but accepted the call and stepped away from the table. He smiled at the reservation guy as he walked out. He didn't want to disturb anyone else eating their dinner.

"Yes, Nathalie?

"I have a few concerns about your schedule I needed to discuss with you, Adrien." That was perhaps the only benefit from having become an adult and graduating. Now his father's assistant discussed his schedule with him instead of just telling him.

"Nathalie. I'm in the middle of a date with Marinette, can it please wait?"

"I'm afraid-"

That's when he heard the screaming.

Adrien automatically dropped the phone, unceremoniously hanging up on Nathalie, trying to figure out where it was coming from. It was easy enough to see when there was someone decked out in a skintight red and orange suit floating down the street, suspended via jets of flames coming out of his hands.

"You think you can fire me? I'll fire you!" The akumatized victim then promptly shot a jet of flame at a car, and must have hit the gas tank if the subsequent explosion was anything to go off of.

Adrien didn't waste any time in ducking behind a tree and telling Plagg that he had better have eaten something before they left. The kwami barely had time to respond before he was being sucked into the ring on Adrien's finger.

The moment the transformation was over, he sprung up for a good jump and managed to time it so that he landed in a crouch right in front of the restaurant's wide window, in between it and the flame guy, whatever he was calling himself.

"I thought they undercooked the steak myself, but this might be taking things a little too far," he quipped, rising into a standing position and pulling out his staff.

"I didn't think roast cat was on the menu, but I suppose it can be added!" Chat Noir jumped out of the way of the flame, twisting just enough so that he could see Marinette sitting at their table staring at the spectacle. Their eyes made contact for just a second before he had to focus on landing on his feet as every cat should. The next few seconds were a frantic jumps and slides to avoid getting burnt to a crisp, which was honestly frustrating considering he didn't have enough time to use any of the fire puns that were coming to mind.

Then, just as he was starting to wonder how soon Ladybug would be able to get here, Flamedude, as Chat Noir had started calling him in his head until he announced his name, suddenly stopped 'firing' at him, and instead turned his attention to the restaurant.

"You're a distraction."

Before Chat Noir even had a chance to let the grin fade off his face, Flamedude raised his hands and began to shoot giant jets of flame towards the window Chat Noir had seen Marinette at only a few moments earlier.

The next few seconds seemed to go so slow he had time to process every single moment.

The looks on the faces of the patrons' faces as they realized what was going on.

The flames engulfing the whole front of the store.

The flash of red as Ladybug finally showed up, swinging in from the direction of the door and connecting with Flamedude's chest, cutting off the flames.

Then his own scream registered in his ears.

"MARINETTE!"

He began to sprint towards restaurant, imagining Marinette stuck in a burning building, how soon would it be before it spread? What if it found the oil from the kitchens?

"Hold on, Kitty," Ladybug said, grabbing his tail as she so often did. Instead of stopping and letting her chastise him with a smirk on her face, he sprinted forward anyways, dragging her behind him. Why didn't she understand that Marinette was in there!? The car to his side exploded, which meant that the villain was probably trying to fire at them again, but he had just reached the store front and was trying to figure out a way to get inside without getting burned himself.

"Chat!" Ladybug yelled at him, trying to pull on his shoulder to get his attention.

"MARINETE IS IN THERE!" He screamed in response, in turn trying to throw her off him.

"She's probably fine, Chat, I'm sure she got out."

"How do you know that?" He yelled, but they had to jump apart as flames filled the space in between them. He landed in a crouch and immediately began to sprint back towards the store.

Then the store exploded.

The explosion pushed him backwards with enough force that he handed flat on his back while glass peppered the ground around him. He probably should have made a greater effort to try to avoid getting glass shards in his eyes, but all he could do was stare at the burning remains of the store, mouth open in a silent scream.

Mari.

Marinette.

"NO!"

He didn't even have to finish his scream before Ladybug's yo-yo had caught his ankle and pulled him out of the way of another jet of flame. She yelled something at him, but he only tried to scramble out of the wire to get back to the restaurant. She had to be alright, she had to be!

The desperation seemed to have his heart in a tight grip he couldn't escape. She had to be alright! He made another lunge for the restaurant, but this time Ladybug herself had launched herself at him. They rolled behind a building where Flamedude wouldn't be able to find them, and she wasted no time in making sure all of his limbs were pinned down.

"Chat! You have to focus!"

"Marinette was in there! I have to save her!"

"Chat, I'm sure she got out and if she didn't the best way to help her is to help me capture the akuma! I can't do this without you! You have to focus!"

For the first time he actually looked in her eyes instead of desperately straining against her to get back to that restaurant. He had thought vaguely before that Ladybug's eyes reminded him of Marinette's, but in that moment he thought it was really his girlfriend on top of his telling him she needed him to focus. And it was that more than anything that had him relaxing.

"Alright, Ladybug."

She got off of him and he launched himself to his feet, spinning his baton between his hands.

"If she's hurt… he'll pay for it."

Without waiting to see if Ladybug was following him, he ran around the corner.

He wasn't sure if any battle had ever passed in such a blur for him. If he was forced to recall a moment of it, he wasn't sure he'd be able to. He didn't make any puns, he didn't flirt with Ladybug, he was focused entirely and completely on capturing the akuma. He didn't even think about Marinette because thinking about what might have happened to her would distract him. He had to focus.

Finally, when the restaurant's logo was ripped off of his apron, the akuma cleansed, and the Paris restored, Ladybug held out her fist for their customary fist bump, but Chat Noir only turned to stare at the restaurant.

Ladybug put her hand on his shoulder. "You check the restaurant and I'll check the surrounding area. We'll find her. I'm sure she's alright."

He nodded and sprinted towards the window, miraculously restored, and ducked inside the door. There were a handful of patrons still inside who looked shaken, but excited to see one of their heroes there.

A quick survey was all he needed to know that Marinette wasn't there.

"Chat Noir?"

He turned around and there she was standing in the door way, clutching the string of her purse.

"Ladybug said you were worried about me."

He squashed the urge to run across the room and pull her into his arms in favor of bowing low in her direction.

"I wanted to make sure the Princess was safe. I'm glad you escaped alright."

"I'm fine. Thank you for saving the day."

"My paw-sure. Try to be a bit more careful next time, Princess. Wouldn't want you to go breaking a Prince's heart, now would you?"

Marinette jolted. "Adrien!" Chat Noir merely smirked and hurried out of the restaurant, ducking into the alley beside it to de-transform, and hurry back.

"Adrien!"

"Marinette," he called as he ran towards her. She spun around didn't even have time to say his name again before he gave in to every instinct that had been pulling out him since he saw she was alright. He pulled her into the tightest hug he thought wouldn't crush her, burying his face in her should and trying not to openly sob.

"You're alright. I saw the explosion and I was so scared—"

"I managed to get out just in time," she comforted, hugging him tightly back.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he confessed, squeezing her even tighter. "I love you, Marinette."

"I know, Adrien. I love you too."

* * *

"I'm going to tell her, Ladybug."

Ladybug looked over at him. Her partner had been unusually quiet, but she hadn't wanted to pry. He had been a bit on edge the past couple of days since the akuma attack at the restaurant. She still didn't know why he had been so worried about Marinette. About her. She and Chat had interacted before, but she had never thought they had a connection strong enough to create that kind of reaction.

"What?"

He turned and faced her instead of staring at the Parisian skyline.

"I'm going to tell someone my identity. I refuse to keep this secret from her anymore."

"Chat, we can't—"

"I don't care. I nearly lost her Ladybug. I nearly lost her and I can't live with the idea that that almost happened and she didn't know an entire half of who I am."

"But Chat—"

"There's nothing you can do to stop me, Ladybug. The only thing you can do is try to tie me up and capture me, and then eventually I'd de-transform and you would know which would ruin the whole point."

Ladybug stared at him, mouth hanging open. He was serious about this. There was no joke or amused twinkle in his eyes. She had always know that he was more open to the idea of sharing their identities than she was, but this was serious.

"Alright. Just make sure it's someone you trust a lot."

"I do."

"Then I hope it goes well for you."

Adrien had never really quite gotten over thinking she was dead, Marinette realized. He had been trying to spend about every spare minute he had with her. Between all of the photoshoots and advanced college classes he was taking, that wasn't a lot, but it had still been hard for her to find a single moment away from him to meet with Chat. And whereas Adrien was becoming almost more possessive, Chat Noir was become more distant. Something had shaken him and it had shaken him badly.

Enough so that he was going to tell someone his real identity.

She had stayed up all night last night worrying about it. She knew she would trust him to pick someone who really would keep his secret, but she couldn't help but worry. If someone else even managed to figure out that the person he was telling was close to Chat Noir it could put him in danger and he was one of her best friends. The akuma last week was evidence enough that Hawkmoth was getting more dangerous.

"Marriiii," her boyfriend whined when she stopped playing with his hair. Marinette rolled her eyes and pushed her fingers into Adrien's blond hair again.

"You're ridiculous."

He lifted his head from her stomach and grinned at her. "And you know you love me because of it."

She blushed at stuttered, "A-are you even watching the movie?"

"Absolutely not," he responded, burying his face in her midriff again. It was one of their favorite ways to spend time together, him wrapping his arms around her waist and hiding his face in her stomach while she played with his hair. Sometimes they'd just lay there and talk and other times they'd just play a movie that neither one of them would pay attention to.

"Marinette?"

"Hmm?" He didn't respond immediately, but eventually actually sat up. She did likewise, frowning at the intent look on his face. "Adrien, is there something wrong?"

"Marinette… I love you."

"I love you too. Is there something wrong?"

He swallowed then shook his head. "No, nothing is wrong. There's just something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" she asked, mind instantly jumping to the worst conclusion. Was he breaking up with her? Did he have cancer? Was he gay?

"There's… There's a part of me that you don't… you don't know about."

He was. He was gay. She had been dating a gay guy and he was finally coming out about it and he was going to tell her about his new boyfriend. She should have known dating an amazing guy like him was too good to be true.

"… oh?"

"I want to be honest with you because I love you and… I want to marry you, Marinette."

Her breath caught.

Okay so maybe he wasn't gay.

"You want to-to m-marry me?"

"With all my heart. But I can't ask you to share your life with me if I'm hiding half of mine from you. Marinette I'm… I…"

"You don't have cancer do you?"

He blinked and frowned at her, then laughed. "No, Marinette, I don't have cancer. I'm perfectly healthy, except for the fact that I've come down with a bad case of the lovebug." He grinned as he made the pun, but then the smile faded. At the same time, Marinette stared – really stared – at her boyfriend.

No…

It wasn't possible.

But he had said he was going to propose- and he said he was going to tell her- his reaction when he thought she was still in the restaurant-

"Marinette, I'm… I'm—"

"You're Chat Noir."

He stared at her. "How did you know?"

Marinette threw her hands over her face. "I can't believe it! This entire time we've been dating each other and we didn't know! And you're him!"

"I understand if you're angry. Believe me, I wanted to tell you—!"

"Adrien—Chat, I'm not... you've got to be kidding me. Chat Noir, I'm Ladybug."

Adrien's jaw dropped. "No."

"Yes."

"You mean this entire time…"

"Yes!"

"How were we both so stupid?"

"I don't know!"

"And I got a girlfriend at the same time you got a boyfriend—"

"We were each other's!"

"And then you…"

"… wow, we've been idiots haven't we?"

Adrien laughed at the same time Marinette giggled. "Well, I suppose that means that I've already ruined the surprise then."

"What do you mean?" she asked, wondering what on earth he was hoping to surprise her with after this.

Then he pulled out the ring.

"I told Ladybug I was going to propose. I didn't realize I was proposing to her. Well, Marinette? What do you say to taking this kitty cat for a husband?"

Marinette stared at him open mouthed, then threw her arms around his neck.

"Of course!"


	3. Heartbreak

Marinette had walked into the classroom with such a determined look on her face that Adrien almost assumed she was about to break Chloe's nose.

Not that he hadn't seen her look determined before, but usually that was when a stressful situation had arisen and someone needed to take charge of the situation. As far as he was aware there wasn't anything in particular about today that would call for that kind of attitude.

What was even odder was the fact that as soon as she made eye contact with him, it completely fizzled.

It was actually almost amazing to watch, the way she seemed to deflate like a balloon. He thought that was something that only happened in anime or cartoons, not in actual life. But there was really no other way to describe it.

Alya came up behind her best friend shortly after, leading her to her seat and whispering something Adrien couldn't hear to her. He was tempted to turn around and ask her if something was wrong when the lesson began and he focused his attention instead on learning the material.

About halfway through the lesson, though, something was dropped over his shoulder into his lap.

 _Meet me after class - Marinette_

He frowned at the note, but tucked it away before the teacher could call him on it. Nino gave him a questioning look, but he just shrugged because he really didn't know what she would want to talk about. He certainly didn't know what would make her drop a note over his shoulder to meet him after class. Maybe she wanted to talk to him about getting an internship with his dad? Gabriel Agreste could certainly make people deflate like that. But why would she talk to him about that? He only modeled the clothes; he didn't have anything to do with the designing process.

Maybe she didn't realize how little he was involved with his father's work. Literally the only interaction he had with his father's fashion was wearing it. He didn't get a say in anything else, let alone who his father's company hired as interns. He'd have to try to tell her that as nicely as possible – if that was even what she wanted to meet with him about.

He waited the whole rest of the lesson, dutifully taking notes, until they were finally released and he was able to pack up his things. Marinette was hovering around her seat and out of the corner of his eye, Adrien saw Alya giving her a thumbs up. He turned shortly after to give her a smile.

"Hey, Marinette."

"H-h-hi!" He turned and checked to make sure that Chloe was already out of the room because he knew she'd have an issue with him speaking with Marinette privately. Thankfully she had already left and he knew that the rest of their classmates would be good about filing out and leaving them alone.

"You said you wanted to talk?"

Marinette seemed to gulp and then nodded. Alya had finally taken her leave and left them alone.

"Y-y-yes I did. I.. Adrien…"

"Yes?" he prompted when she seemed to be stuttering too much to get out a single word. She was starting to turn red and – was she shaking? She was honestly shaking. He couldn't help but reach out and grab her shoulder to steady the poor girl. What on earth did she want to talk about that would make her freak out this much? "Marinette, calm down. You're fine."

"Love- um- Adrien- I- um-"

"Marinette!" he said loudly, gripping her shoulders even tighter. He smiled at her as she flushed an even brighter red. "It's just me. What is it?"

"… I… Adrien…"

"Yes?"

"—Iloveyou."

Adrien froze.

"What?"

She made a face that made her look like she was constipated – or about to explode. "I-I-I- Nothing!"

"Marinette… did you say…"

She made an admittedly cute squeaking noise before muttering the words he thought she had said again.

"Adrien… I love you."

He felt his heart sink into his stomach. Oh no…

"Marinette I…" She wasn't looking him in the eye. In fact he thought that his grip on her shoulders was the only thing keeping her from running away. Realizing this he let go of her and stepped away slightly. He felt so awful, especially since she had obviously had to work up a lot of courage to decide to come talk to him but… "I'm so sorry. I… love someone else."

Silence.

Then a quiet, "Oh."

"I am so sorry Marinette," he said quickly. "I am _so_ sorry. It's not that I don't… like you! I do! You're a great friend and you're always so kind, but… I… already… I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, pig tails bobbing around her head. "No, no, you're fine." Her words ran entirely hollow. "It's alright." She finally lifted her head and smiled, but to Adrien's horror he saw her eyes watering. "If you already love someone else—"

As if she was orchestrating it to make him feel horrible, her voice cracked.

"Marinette, I am so sorry. I… I'm so sorry."

"No. No. I just… My dad needs me, I need to go home." He reached out to her, but she hurried right past him and out of the classroom. He tried to follow her, but she moved even faster than he thought she would and by the time he reached the door she was already halfway down the hall.

"Marinette!" he called after her, but she kept walking.

"What happened?" He spun and found Alya standing right outside the door. He probably should have been more surprised to see her, but then again should he really be that surprised?

"I… she… she told me she loved me."

"I know. What did you say?"

Adrien stared at Alya, struggling to come up with something to say but all he could come up with was, "… I'm in love with someone else."

"And you just told her that?"

"What else was I supposed to say?"

"What else were you supposed to say? What? Do you think you can just break girl's hearts like that because you're Mr. Fashion Model Adrien Agreste?"

"Alya," he breathed, taking a step back. It felt like she had slapped him. She might as well have, really. "I would never— I couldn't never— Marinette is one of my best friends!"

Something about his expression or his words caused her face to soften just slightly. "I know, Adrien. I'm just mad because she's hurt and I hate to see that."

"I never wanted to hurt her."

"Well we do a lot of things in life we don't want to do," she snapped, causing him to shrink even further. "If she ends up as an akuma, it's your fault."

That made him legitimately flinch. But Alya was right. If he had hurt her that badly it would make her a perfect target for Hawkmoth. He couldn't imagine sweet Marinette being turned into an akuma, but everyone had a breaking point. If she was and it was his fault he wasn't sure if he'd be able to forgive himself. And he didn't know if he would be able to fight her. Fighting the Bubbler had been bad enough, but Marinette?

He wanted to go find her immediately and protect her, to make sure it didn't happen, but then classes were starting and when he asked to go to the bathroom, he wasn't able to find her anywhere. She seemed to have gone home for the rest of the day. He wanted to go visit her right after school got out, but then he was dragged to piano lessons right after classes before he could get a word in edgewise.

He found hope in the fact that the streets of Paris hadn't exploded yet, but as soon as he had a free moment, which unfortunately wasn't until it was almost dark, he slipped away as Chat Noir and paid a visit to his classmate.

The light in her bedroom was on, which was a good sign, but he couldn't see her moving around down there. He was just pulling out his baton to use one of its useful features when a voice spoke behind him.

"Just who do you think you're spying on, kitty?"

Chat Noir jumped and whirled around, even though he knew there was only one person who could have snuck up on him like that. "My Lady."

She didn't look particularly amused to see him there. He barely had a moment to frown at her though before she was asking another question.

"What are you doing here, Chat Noir?"

He turned back to the window, trying to see where Marinette might be. "I'm keeping an eye on the girl who lives here, Marinette. She's the girl that you had me watch over when the Illustrator was after her."

"Why?"

"Word on the street is she got hurt pretty bad today and I just wanted to make sure she didn't end up becoming the next akuma we need to fight."

He wasn't watching Ladybug, so he totally missed her surprised look. "…I think she's safe. Usually an Akuma will strike right after it happens, not a couple of hours later."

"Maybe. But I don't want to risk it. She's a really sweet girl and it… it really hurts to be rejected by someone you love." He had to stop himself from physically flinching as he said it. He hadn't had any idea she had felt that way about him or maybe he might have been able to do something or say something other than "I love someone else." It was the truth, but at least he could have come up with a more tactful way to say it. She had been trying so hard to look unaffected, but he could still see the hurt welling up in her sweet blue eyes.

Imagine his panic when he turned and saw the same look on his Lady's face.

"Ladybug?" he probed as gently as he could. She jerked and looked at him, but the tears had spilled over her mask and trailed down her face.

"What?" she wiped her face free of the tears, but he hurried over to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"What's wrong? My Lady, please tell me what's wrong!"

"It's nothing, Chat."

"It's clearly not nothing, Ladybug. What is it? What's wrong? Did I say something?" First Marinette and now Ladybug. He just kept hurting people he loved today didn't he? Marinette was one of his best friends, he hated the fact that he hurt her. But if he just made Ladybug cry now too he might jump off the building and not catch himself.

"No! No, it's not you Chat it's just…" she took a shuddering breath and then cursed softly. Chat blinked; he didn't think he had ever heard his Lady swear. "I'm sorry, I can't believe I'm falling apart like this. I guess I just…" She brushed the tears away again with the base of her palm. "I guess I just sympathize with this Marinette girl."

"You sympathize with her?"

"Yeah I… I may have told the boy I love that I love him today."

Chat felt as if cold water had just been poured all of him. The sudden shock and the cold chill slowly rolling down his back.

Ladybug was in love with someone. She was in love with someone else.

Someone who was making her cry.

"And he… told me that he was in love with someone else. So I guess I know how she feels."

"Ladybug… I…"

She shook her head, purposefully looking away from him as she continued to try to get rid of the tears that were still falling down her face.

"I'm fine, Chat. I'll get over it."

"I don't want you to get akumatized either," he said, pulling her into a hug. What surprised him most wasn't how nicely she seemed to fit in his arms or the way she hugged him back, but actually how natural it felt. He had always been afraid that trying to hug her would feel awkward or uncomfortable, but it felt completely normal to hug her like this. To comfort her like this.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his torso, dropping her head onto his shoulder. He held her as tightly as he dared and simply let her cry.

"I'm so sorry, Ladybug," he whispered into her blueish black hair. Even though he was currently hugging the girl of his dreams, the girl he had been in love with for months, he hated it. He hated that she was crying, he hated the situation that led her to cry, he hated the fact that… he might have done the same thing to Marinette.

"It's not your fault," she said pulling away. "It's mine. I'm so stupid to think he could ever love me too."

"Hey! Don't say that, Ladybug!"

"I'm not Ladybug, Chat!"

He frowned at her and she shook her head, clarifying. "I'm only Ladybug when I have this mask on. When I'm not Ladybug, I'm just a clumsy nobody that no one could ever like. I'm a different person without the spots, Chat. And I'm not surprised he doesn't want me; after all he's so kind and intelligent and beautiful—"

"Stop, Ladybug. Stop right there," he said as firmly as he possibly could, pushing her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "I don't know who you are without the mask. But you are always Ladybug. Losing the mask doesn't mean you lose who you are, and you are kind and brave and selfless and I—" He couldn't say the words though. He couldn't tell her that he loved her when she was so broken like this. "And I don't know anyone who deserves love more than you."

She sniffed, dropping his gaze. "Thanks, Chat."

"You don't believe me."

"No, I… I'm just different than you think, Chat. I'm not like Ladybug when I'm a civilian."

"And you think I'm like Chat Noir when I'm a civilian? Ladybug, we couldn't be more different!"

"I have trouble believing that," she whispered, but at least the tears had stopped. He took that as a small victory and pounced on it.

"Oh yeah? What if I were to tell you that my secret identity has actually met Ladybug? And you didn't have a clue who I was."

That took Ladybug aback. She stared at him. "I've met you?"

"As my secret identity. And I didn't crack a single pun around you."

"No pick up lines?"

"None. Though I may have stared at you a lot."

"Really?" She looked completely mystified at the idea that she could have met him outside of the mask and not known it.

"Yes. Ladybug, I understand being a different person when we're not transformed. I do it every single day. But changing your spots does not change who you are and the Ladybug I know is one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life."

Ladybug watched him as if waiting for him to crack a joke, but this time he was determined not to. He looked directly into her eyes, hoping to make her realize just how much he meant it. He couldn't tell her that he loved her, but he could tell her about how amazing she was. And not as the super hero that Paris loved, but as the person who loved love and helped care for people after they were turned into akumas and would do anything to protect the city that she loved.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now tell me who this guy is so I can give him a little visit from a very angry kitty."

She gaped. "No! Chat!"

"He made you cry, Ladybug! I have to defend your honor!"

"Slow down, kitty! You are not going to go off and find him!"

"Why not?"

"He's not some monster that broke my heart!"

"He definitely—"

"You can't hurt him! He's so nice all the time—"

"He broke your heart, Ladybug!"

"No! Well, he didn't mean to! He's in love with someone else. I can't blame him for that."

"I can," he growled, wondering if he could figure out who the guy was without Ladybug telling him. It wasn't very likely. She was very good about keeping her identity a secret and he couldn't exactly hunt down every guy in Paris and ask them if they had broken any girl's hearts that day.

Of course, he would be at the very top of that list.

That thought made him simultaneously deflate and spin around back towards the bakery.

"Marinette!" he scanned the window, scrambling across the roof to try to get a better view. He didn't see her in her room anymore. "I don't see her!"

"I'm sure she's fine, Chat."

"I don't want her to get hurt! Or—she's already been hurt and it's my fault and if she gets akumatized because of it—"

"Wait, Chat, what do you mean it's your fault? How could it possibly be your fault; now you're the one talking nonsense."

He froze. He had said that out loud. In front of Ladybug.

"I… I mean, she's one of Paris's citizens and I wouldn't want her to get hurt or get akumatized because I fight for Paris and its people—"

Ladybug was staring intently at him again, and he wasn't sure he felt very comfortable with it. He had slipped. And he had slipped up majorly. Yes, Ladybug was usually the one that was so insistent they keep their identities secret, but he didn't want her to find out like this, now. Especially not when he had just done to Marinette what someone else had just done to Ladybug.

"Chat Noir. You said that it was your fault Marinette got hurt. I happen to know that Chat Noir was not involved at all in what happened to Marinette which means… do you know her? Your civilian self?"

He hesitated, and then finally bowed his head in shame. "… no one's said anything about her getting hurt. I didn't… she… I'm the one who broke her heart."

He was still looking down at the room when she gasped. "Adrien?"

"I didn't mean to! I didn't— I never wanted to hurt her! Marinette is one of my best friends and she's so sweet and so kind and she loves everyone so much, I didn't know she felt that way about me. It's just like what happened to you and I already felt horrible because of what I did to her and then I saw you and someone did I what did to her to you and I wanted to hurt him, but I'm hardly one to speak because I did it to her and I hate myself for it—"

"No, no! Adrien! You can't hate yourself! You can't! I would hate myself if you— you can't!"

"What?"

"You love someone else and if you love her than she must be amazing. It hurts knowing that you don't love me, but I never wanted to make you hate yourself!"

Chat Noir lifted his eyes from the roof to meet Ladybug's earnest gaze. She was desperate to make him understand she didn't want him to hate himself because… of her.

"Ladybug? You're Marinette?"

"… Yes. But you can't hate yourself, Adrien! I never wanted that!"

He stared at her, knowing that his mouth was open and not caring because he felt like he was seeing her for the first time. The sweetness and the kindness and the bravery and selflessness— of course she was Marinette. Of course Marinette of Ladybug.

Which mean… he had broken his Lady's heart.

Because he was in love with his Lady.

"Marinette… Ladybug…"

"You love someone else. You shouldn't feel bad because of that—"

Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore, launching himself across the small space between them to kiss her firmly and soundly on the lips. She promptly froze so he pulled away, but still kept a hand on her back.

"Marinette… when I said I loved someone else, I meant _Ladybug_. Because I'm madly in love with her. And not because she's a hero that saves Paris, but because she's kind and sweet and brave and all of those things that _Marinette_ is."

She stared at him. "You love Ladybug?"

"I love you."

"But…"

"I love Ladybug and… I love Marinette. But mostly I love you. It makes complete sense that you're both of them because the things that I love most about either of you are the same because you're the same and I am so sorry for everything I did to you and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you'll let me and… if you can accept the fact that Adrien loves a good cat pun—"

This time she took the pleasure of cutting him off by pressing her lips against his.

"Shut up, kitty."


End file.
